The Photodetector Array Camera and Spectrometer (PACS) is one of the three science instruments for ESA's far infrared and submillimeter observatory Herschel. It employs two Ge:Ga photoconductor arrays (stressed and unstressed) with 16 × 25 pixels, each, and two filled silicon bolometer arrays with 16 × 32 and 32 × 64 pixels, respectively, to

The integration of the three main silicon carbide mirrors into the new 1.5 m solar telescope GREGOR at Izana on Tenerife, Spain is planned during 2006. We expect first light at the end of 2006. A progress report about integration of the optics and mechanics and planning of the commissioning phase of the telescope and post focus instruments will be

We report near-infrared spectroscopic data for the Seyfert 2 galaxy Mrk 78, taken with the LIRIS near-infrared camera/spectrometer at the William Herschel Telescope (WHT). The long-slit spectra clearly show extended emission. The resolution and depth of the near-infrared spectra allow the examination of its morphology and ionization regions, and a

An analysis of high-resolution Stokes observations of two light bridges in active region NOAA 8990 is presented. The observations were recorded with the La Palma Stokes Polarimeter attached to the Swedish Vacuum Solar Telescope. The stratification over the solar atmosphere of different physical parameters is retrieved from these data using the

The GTC (Gran Telescopio Canarias) is a 10,4 meter segmented telescope, whose integration is currently being completed at the ORM in La Palma, Spain. The GTC is a partnership between Spain, Mexico and the University of Florida. Main science drivers for the GTC are image quality, operational efficiency and reliability. First light is planned for

New BV RI photometry and optical spectroscopy of the Type IIp supernova 2004dj in NGC 2403, obtained during the first year since discovery, are presented. The progenitor cluster, Sandage 96, is also detected on pre-explosion frames. The light curve indicates that the explosion occurred about 30d before discovery, and the plateau phase lasted about